On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced nine nominees to serve as U.S. attorneys, including three for North Carolina. 

The president nominated Michael F. Easley Jr., for the Eastern District of N.C. and son of former state governor, Sandra J. Hairston, for the state's Middle District, and Dena J. King, for the Western District, according to a statement from the White House. 

"These individuals were chosen for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials in this field, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice," a news release stated.

They will all have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The Biden administration said it is working to combat an increase in gun violence through efforts, and announcing these new U.S. attorneys as top federal law enforcement helps aid in the fight against gun crime, officials said. 

Easley,  a partner at the law firm McGuire Woods, is based in Raleigh and works as a litigation partner at McGuireWoods LLP.

Hairston, who has been the acting U.S. attorney in the Middle District of North Carolina since March. If confirmed by the Senate, Hairston would be the first Black woman to hold that position.

King, who has been in charge of prosecuting violent crime and narcotics cases in the Western District of North Carolina, was nominated to run the U.S. Attorney’s Office there and would be the first Black person to hold the position.  

Hairston and King are both graduates of North Carolina Central University's law school. Easley is an alum of the law school at UNC Chapel Hill.

Biden has also announced nominees for other states too, including Hawaii, Rhode Island, Colorado, Ohio, Vermont and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The president has now nominated 25 people to serve as U.S. attorneys, positions that have been filled for months by acting U.S. attorneys.